India, Israel to Build Anti-Missile System

Feb. 6, 2014 - 03:45AM
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Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony, right, walks past a Brahmos missile system during his visit to the Defence Research and Development Organisation pavilion at Defexpo in New Delhi on Thursday. A DRDO source said it will be cooperating on an anti-missile system with Israel. (Prakash Singh/AFP via Getty Images)

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NEW DELHI — India and Israel will jointly build an integrated anti-missile system to be deployed against Chinese nuclear and conventional missiles.

The new program, which does not yet have a name, has been approved by the Indian Defence Ministry, with a contract expected to be signed in the next six months, according to a scientist with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at Defexpo.

The proposed missile defense program will see participation by Rafael and Israel Aircraft Industries in partnership with DRDO and state-owned Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).

The system will integrate the homegrown Prithvi air defense system, which is ready for induction next year, with the mobile detection radar being built by BEL in partnership with IAI. In addition, DRDO and BEL will work with IAI and Rafael for this program.

“The proposed missile defense program will be a network of air defense systems and radars from India and Israel,” a Rafael executive said at Defexpo, which runs from Thursday to Sunday.

The executive added that additional missile systems, both short range and medium range, will be tailor-made for use by India.

Indian MoD sources said talks have been underway on the integrated missile defense program for over six months, but gave no details on the program’s fate.

The Rafael executive said his company has offered to build a dedicated C4I system for the program. India does not yet have a C4I system for missile defense threats, the executive added. ■